Maliya
Since this is the last issue of "Off the Wall" of the 1998/99 school year, I would like to include a brief article to thank the one person who has made this whole thing possible. About four years ago, I entered the classroom of Mrs. Sondra Wisdom, my junior high English teacher. I never thought I would make it through school under her authority. She was always so - impossible. At least it seemed that way. Mrs. Wisdom always had to have everything the best, and she would never settle for even our second best. I remember being so shy in junior high, but she always kept pushing me and making me do things that I dreaded so much - I thought she hated me, or that she wanted me to hate her! Yet, as the days went by, I began to realize that she was helping me - not hating me.
Today, if I were to compare my personality and outlook on life to what it was at the beginning of junior high, I would think that someone had kidnapped me and put a totally different person in my place. It seems as though everything that used to be confusing, frustrating, embarrassing, and nerve-wracking now just comes so naturally to my every day life without any hassle. I know that the main reason that I am now able to face so many more things is because of her. Mrs. Wisdom. I won’t go into detail of the exact incident, but I can still recall one of the first times Mrs. Wisdom and I sat down and had a heart to heart talk. I cried my eyes out while doing it because I was so afraid to open up to anyone, especially my teacher. But she has a way - a special way of opening you wide up and letting the stress just pour out. She has a way of making everything that seems so complicating seem so crystal clear and simple. She has a way of showing you that she cares
Mrs. Wisdom and I have built a wonderful relationship over the years, and she has basically become my second mother. She has gotten me into acting in the drama club, playing music in church and in school, attending the FUMC Youth Group under her direction, writing in "Off the Wall", and many other special activities. Mrs. Wisdom has helped me to discover many things in life that I never saw before, and most of all, she has helped me to discover myself. However, this year, I was saddened to find out that it would be her last year at Lexington Schools. Mrs. Wisdom is now retiring from teaching to become a professional, motivational speaker (something she is incredibly talented at). Though I will miss walking by her room and hearing her laughter in the hallways every day, I know that it’s her destiny to speak out to the world, and I know she will excel in it.
Thanks to Mrs. Wisdom, we have now completed one school year of journalism in "Off the Wall". We could have written the articles without her, but we could have never had the far out ideas and the motivation to keep going if she wasn’t there. I believe, though, that she has left us with enough motivation to carry on into next year. So, please, be on the lookout for "Off the Wall", the 1999/2000 premiere issue! Until then, thank you for reading - see you next Fall!
